Okay, so maybe that’s not the most practical piece for zooming around town, newspaper wedged between the crook of your arm and your Bottega go-bag, as one model demonstrated. It was a bit easier to believe busy New Yorkers throwing on the model’s roomy pinstripe suit, slip-on sneakers, and supple leather trench. As Trotter put it, “I want my wearer to feel at ease, confident, and I think that they’re on the move.”
Of course, upon closer inspection his newspaper was also intrecciato’d.
Here’s what else you need to know about Louise Trotter’s Bottega Veneta.
There’s a New Logo
Remember when every new creative director Helvetica’d their brand logo? Trotter is doing the opposite, bringing back a version of what she calls the “original logo.” The serif type looks hand-set, a nice reminder of where all the brand’s beautiful bags come from. Though since Bottega’s products are famously logo-free, and the new identity is rolling out in the coming months, for now you’ll have to take my word for it.
The Show Was a VIP Bonanza
Bottega Veneta spared no expense stocking the front row with the triple-A-list. I was sitting in the vicinity of RM from BTS and Uma Thurman, which meant I experienced the pre-show festivities trapped behind a wall of bodyguards, photographers, and eager social media editors. Nearby I spotted Julianne Moore and Michelle Yeoh, who sat next to brand new Kering CEO Luca de Meo. There were also emerging Bottega muses in Louisa Jacobsen, King Princess, and 15-year-old Owen Cooper. But the real fun of Bottega shows is seeing a bunch of niche cultural legends draped in incredible coats. Lauren Hutton, of carrying-a-Bottega-clutch-in-American-Gigolo fame, topped off her nubby wool suit with a tiny vintage green bucket hat. German character actor Udo Keir wore intrecciato hitman gloves and posed for a photo with a fan (Mel Ottenberg).
Victor VIRGILE/Getty Images
Victor VIRGILE/Getty Images
An Oscar Winner Was Behind the Soundtrack
Trotter asked the artist and Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen to construct the soundtrack, which was the somewhat haunting piece of “audio artwork” titled ’66 –’76, which wove together (are you sensing a theme?) Nina Simone and David Bowie’s respective versions of “Wild Is The Wind.” Said McQueen in a statement, “I wanted to heighten people’s emotions, to make them more sensitive to the clothes. It’s opera. When I’ve been to fashion shows, I always think, this is the contemporary incarnation of opera, as it would have been experienced in the past. It’s not old fashioned, it’s not dusty. In fact, it’s cutting edge.”
The Stools Are Still Pieces of Art
Blazy commissioned important furniture for his show seating. Thanks to him I’ve had the pleasure of posting up on a candy-colored resin throne by Gaetano Pesce and perching on a special edition Le Corbusier-designed stool. (For sale here.) Trotter appears to be continuing the trend, parking guests on a kaleidoscope of jewel-like Murano glass blocks. Mine was the color of blush.
Victor VIRGILE/Getty Images
Victor VIRGILE/Getty Images
There Was a Lot of Epic Outerwear
Trotter’s debut was billed as a summer collection, but it looked more like fall, unless your idea of summer is shuttling between the frosty confines of a chauffeured S-Class and your G6. (Which in a way is very Bottega.) There was outerwear galore, like a lithe and long overcoat in deep navy wool, leather trenches, peacoats, dusters, and mechanics jackets, and a couple cool parkas with fur-lined hoods.
Trotter Hailed the Collection as a Collective Effort
Backstage, the designer credited her studio for their contribution to what was clearly a highly technical and painstakingly detailed collection. “I think it was really a fantastic collective from the team coming together,” she said. “It was a collective work for all the team coming into such a big house.”
